The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Today I am taking part in The Simple Woman’s Daybook. I haven’t done it for awhile. Today seems like a good day for it. Check out the link to see what other simple women are up to today. And if you’re a blogger, join in! 🙂

Outside my window… The sky and the lake are both the same colour. Fog obscures the far shore. Everything is shrouded and still.

I am thinking… about how I am procrastinating this morning. I mean to wash the floors but keep finding other things to do first. Like this blog entry. And how I couldn’t do anything (even get dressed!) until I sewed a bag. And my fiction story is waiting for me. I would prefer to devote the majority of my day today to it. And I just might do that! Who needs clean floors, anyway? (insert shifty-eyed emoticon here)

I am thankful…for the love of my husband and the care of my friends and my laptop and the web. And for pink shoes. And rick rack. Definitely thankful for rick rack this morning!

In the kitchen…no mess! Nothing baking, nothing cooking. Just the kettle waiting to be filled.

I am wearing…leggings and my funky green baby-doll top, my favourite brown sweater that could really stand to be new (but maybe that’s why it’s my favourite – well used/loved), beige & brown polka dot socks and my birks. and a good collection of loose threads. Insulation, you know!

I am creating… a bag! I needed a bag for the Friendship Garden Quilt that I finished (click the link to see it) and just happened to have some happy denim-like sunflower fabric that I got at the thrift store that actually kind of matches the quilt! But I had some bobbin tension issues…

Ta da! Rick rack to the rescue!

The bag looked kind of small. Would the quilt fit?

The pattern is from The Green Bag Lady. I changed up the pattern a bit…4″ straps instead of 3″ and I used French seams.

I am going…to the Big Band Valentine’s Day dance in Whitehorse on Saturday! Pink shoes, you know. Just sayin’.

I am wondering…who of my old friends will be there to dance with me? 🙂 …And also what it would be like to write a song. My friend Fawn Fritzen, who is an awesome singer, is taking part in FAWM (sort of like NaNoWriMo except it’s February Album Writing Month) where she has to write 15 songs during the month of February. It would be fun to write a song together, except maybe more fun for me than for Fawn, lol! since I have never written a song in my life and can’t sing a note to save it!

I am reading…Festive in Death by J.D.Robb. I checked it out from the library and it is due tomorrow!

I am hoping…that I can finish this book tonight! Shouldn’t be a problem…I love J.D.Robb’s Eve Dallas stories. 🙂 (did you know that J.D.Robb is actually Nora Roberts? Such a versatile author! And prolific…eee gads, that gal can write!)

I am looking forward to…spending time at the Fox Lake cabin. Really looking forward to it. I want to walk in the door and not walk out again for days and days. I love it there so much!

I am learning…always.

Around the house…dust bunnies to sweep. kitty and doggy footprints to mop, a rug to vacuum, a bathroom to polish.

I am pondering…whether I should sign up for a free Open University Future Learn course called Start Writing Fiction, which focuses on the central skill of creating characters. It’s 8 weeks long and starts at the end of April. Only 3 hours per week, but I am so slow, I know I will need to devote more time than that to it. I should sign up for this. Yes, I should. But I’ve never taken one of these free Open University courses before. Have you?

A favorite quote for today…“If we walk far enough,” says Dorothy, “we shall sometime come to someplace.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

One of my favorite things…cold left over pizza and tea, earl grey, hot – for breakfast! Served with a good book in a corner of the couch and don’t talk to me until I’m done!

A few plans for the rest of the week…Spend time writing on my fiction piece. I need to get another couple of chapters ready to send to my two critique partners, Holly and Lisa. And I’ve got Holly’s chapters to read and make comments on. Plus, I am determined to make 14 (yes, I said fourteen) baby elephants for the elephant-a-long that I’m participating in. 🙂 Here are the momma and daddy elephants:

A peek into my day…because no matter else what I may or may not do today, writing is at the top of the list. 🙂

and this:

with a good dose of this little guy who will need to go for a walk.

What are you doing today?

Since there isn’t electricity or internet at the cabin, I’ll be writing my posts and publishing them the next day from town.

(It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these!)

Sunday, July 7^th, 2013:

Outside my window…when I got up at 5:30 this morning, the lake looked like this:

But now, several hours later, the wind has picked up causing the lake to surge onto the shore. A man in a boat has just gone past the dock, giving up the battle against the waves and Samson has marked his passage with loud barks of indignation that the boat should pass so close.

I am thinking…about my friend Pam who came over for tea yesterday. We sat on the porch swing, she with her crochet and me with my stitching and solved the world’s problems. She remembered that it was my birthday and brought me a lovely gift basket, containing (among other things) a recipe book for vegetables, because Pam knows that I want to eat more vegetables but don’t know how to prepare them (vegetables don’t come naturally to me). Thank you, Pam!

I am thankful…that we are having such a wonderful summer in the Yukon this year. We have had several years of non-summer, so this one – this last summer – feels like a gift.

In the Kitchen…water is heating on the propane stove so that I can wash the dishes that I used to make a pan of lasagna. The lasagna is in the fridge, ready for the oven tomorrow. It should provide supper for several nights next week. CBC’s Cross Country Check-up is playing on the radio.

I am wearing…yoga pants and a sleeveless t-shirt. My feet are bare. I would not be wearing this outfit if there were anybody else here besides me because I am self-conscious of the 20 pounds I put on during my year of illness. I also think that it is interesting and sweet that this question is included in the Daybook…such a female thing.

I am creating…so many things! I have spent part of the morning hand quilting and thinking of what to name this quilt. I think it needs to be named after an exotic tropical drink. Tequila Sunrise, anyone?

I am going…well, nowhere at the moment. Today is Sunday and I am at home. I have been here all week, alone (except for Sammy, Spooky & Misty), while Kelly and Michael have been driving the U-Haul to Salmon Arm. I’ve enjoyed being self-sufficient this week.

I am wondering…what time I will get to sleep tonight. Kelly and Michael will get to the house about 1am. Then there will be the visiting and catching up, and I have to leave the house at 7:30 to go to work in the morning!

I am reading…My new vegetable cookbook for mealtime inspiration and Nora Roberts for entertainment.

I am hoping…that my son’s appointment to talk about getting a mortgage goes well tomorrow.

I am looking forward to…having my husband home in my arms tonight! And trying some of my new vegetable recipes!

I am learning…to listen to my body and ask questions (does my knee hurt because I have not stretched my hamstrings? Am I eating this because I am hungry or simply because I am bored or lonely?

Around the house…all is calm and a fresh cup of tea awaits me. The wind has picked up, causing the curtain that I hung in place of a screen door to billow in and out. I love using fabric instead of a screen door – it lets the cats & dog go in and out as they please, when they please; it keeps the bugs out and it billows in the wind. What more could you want?

I am pondering…what my new life will be like after I retire and move to Salmon Arm in November. Will I be bored? Will I make new friends? (No! and Yes!)

A favourite quote for today… “20 minutes in the kitchen can save you 3 hours at the gym” – Devin Alexander from her cookbook I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening.

A few plans for the rest of the week…Go to work. Come home. Sit on the deck with a glass of wine. Catch up on the day with my family. Write a few blog posts to publish from town during the week (no electricity & no internet at the cabin).

A peek into my day… I have appointments with my Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVD and one of my Rodney Yee yoga DVDs this afternoon, but first I’m off to do my nails. Ciao!

The Simple Woman’s Daybook is a monthly linkup. Why don’t you check it out and join in?

Tag: The Simple Woman’s Daybook

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